The Gate of Heaven

You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullnessofjoy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. -Psalm 16:11

Do we reckon the presence of the Lord to be the greatest of blessings? If in any gathering, even of the humblest people, the Lord God is known to be present in a peculiarly gracious manner, should we make a point of being there?..Will you permit these thoughts to saturate you for a little space? I have spoken them with the desire that each one of us may ask himself, “Is the presence of God my delight?” If so, I am His, and He will be with me. On the contrary, Is the presence of God a matter of indifference, or even of dread? Then my condition is one of guilt, disease, and danger. May the Lord, of His infinite mercy, set me right!

God’s saints in divers places found choice spots where they could converse with heaven. In the first days our gracious God spake with His chosen ones in their daily walk, as Enoch; or under the oak, as Abraham; or by the brook, as Jacob; or before the bush, as Moses; or near the city wall, as Joshua. Wherever it might be, the place became to them the gate of heaven, for the Lord was there. Amid a torrent of sin and sorrow, you may cross the stream of time upon the stepping-stones of the places marked “Jevohah-Shammah”. The Lord’s delights were with the sons of men, and to them nothing brought such bliss as to find that still the Lord would be mindful of man, and visit him. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

It was quite an eye-opener to me some years ago, when I came to see for a certainty that the leaders of the two major divisions of Christendom, the pope of the Catholic Church, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the world’s Anglican community, both failed to understand why mankind is undergoing major suffering today. Which told me that they, which is what I had long suspected, despite their claims to be the representative of God on earth, had both lost contact with our Creator, probably many centuries ago, judging by their performance over the decades.

It was fascinating when, in 2006, Pope Benedict XVI went to visit the site of the former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau.. He explained that, while there, he was constantly praying to his god, “Why, Lord, did you remain silent. How could you tolerate all this?” Even the leader of the Catholic Church, the Vicar of Christ, has no clue as to why suffering exists. He was obviously totally unaware of what was recorded at Job 9:24, “The earth has been handed over to the wicked.”

For Protestants: Ditto with the Archbishop of Canterbury, who, when asked why wickedness abounds, along with suffering, replied, “I have spent much time agonizing over this.” He was obviously totally unaware of what was recorded at 1 John 5:19, “The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.”

Thank you, professoreugene, for your insightful comment. True, the ones that the world expects to give them an answer from God have failed to explain the why of our wicked society. They are lost souls, I fear.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers". Wikipedia
Born: June 19, 1834, Kelvedon, United Kingdom
Died: January 31, 1892, Menton, France
Full name: Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Spouse: Susannah Spurgeon (m. 1856–1892)